TITLE PAGE 1 Leader’s Foreword “As the Leader of Hartlepool Council I am proud to endorse this Publication Local Plan for the Borough. The Local Plan is incredibly important as it will set the planning framework for the next 15 years. It contains policies that will help Hartlepool achieve its Vision for future growth and prosperity with a wide range and choice of homes and jobs within a high quality environment. Hartlepool has so much to offer, with its fantastic marina, a great coastline and a beautiful rural environment on our doorstep. In recent years there have been major achievements through regeneration, improvements to local communities and investment in housing and new businesses. The rebuilding of the Hartlepool College of Further Education and major investment in Cleveland College of Art and Design, improvements to retail facilities and the transport interchange - all in the heart of the town centre - are positive signs of how the town is moving forward. There has also been significant investment in other areas such as Queens Meadow Business Park where we have the most successful Enterprise Zone in the Tees Valley and a new Fire Brigade administrative and training centre being built. Looking ahead, the town is well placed to benefit from future growth in offshore wind and renewable energy and other ‘green’ industries and this Local Plan will ensure that the planning framework supports this ambition through land allocations and infrastructure provision. I believe that the growth proposals within the Local Plan will benefit Hartlepool and its residents through attracting significant inward investment and the associated jobs and opportunities that will result from growing our economy. I will certainly be looking to secure the highest possible quality of design and environment for all development within the Borough. There are still many challenges that need to be tackled, in particular the issues of empty homes, affordable homes, unemployment, improving leisure facilities, vacant shops and environmental protection and enhancement. Hopefully this Local Plan will contribute towards achieving these aims alongside other strategies which are in place. Hartlepool has a strong tradition of working together in partnership with the local community and with the private and public sector and this has stood us in good stead in drawing together these planning policies. I believe that this Local Plan provides a strong and effective planning policy framework that will help the town achieve its ambitions whilst providing protection to its most attractive and sensitive assets including the historic environment and proud heritage.” Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council 1 LIST OF CONTENTS Chapter Section Page 1 Introduction 1 2 The Local Plan in Context 6 3 The Borough of Hartlepool 9 4 Spatial Vision, Themes and Objectives 14 5 The Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development 17 Policy SUS1: The Presumption in Favour of Sustainable 17 Development 6 The Locational Strategy 18 Policy LS1 Locational Strategy 24 Minimising and Adapting to Climate Change 26 7 Policy CC1: Minimising and adapting to Climate Change 31 Policy CC2: Reducing and Mitigating Flood Risk 34 Policy CC3: Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Generation 36 Policy CC4: Strategic Wind Turbine Developments 39 Policy CC5: Large Scale Solar Photovoltaic Developments 41 8 Infrastructure 43 Policy INF1: Sustainable Transport Network 48 Policy INF2: Improving Connectivity in Hartlepool 49 Policy INF3: University Hospital of Hartlepool 53 Policy INF4: Community Facilities 53 Policy INF5: Telecommunications 56 9 Quality of Place 58 Policy QP1: Planning Obligations 60 Policy QP2: Compulsory Purchase Orders 61 Policy QP3: Location, Accessibility, Highway Safety and Parking 64 Policy QP4: Layout and Design of Development 68 Policy QP5: Safety and Security 70 Policy QP6: Technical Matters 72 Policy QP7: Energy Efficiency 75 Policy QP8: Advertisements 76 10 Housing 77 Policy HSG1: New Housing Provision 85 Policy HSG2: Overall Housing Mix 88 Policy HSG3: Urban Local Plan Sites 89 Policy HSG4: The South West Extension Strategic Housing Site 91 Policy HSG5: High Tunstall Strategic Housing Site 94 Policy HSG5a: Quarry Farm Housing Site 95 Policy HSG6: Wynyard Housing Developments 98 Policy HSG7: Elwick Village Housing Development 102 Policy HSG8: Hart Village Housing Developments 104 Policy HSG9: Affordable Housing 107 Policy HSG10: Housing Market Renewal 108 Policy HSG11: Extensions to Existing Dwellings 109 Policy HSG12: Residential annexes 110 Policy HSG13: Gypsy and Traveller Provision 112 Chapter Section Page 11 Strengthening the Local Economy 113 Policy EMP1: Prestige Employment Site Wynyard Business Park 120 Policy EMP2: Queen’s Meadow Business Park 121 Policy EMP3: General Employment Land 123 Policy EMP4: Specialist Industries 125 Policy EMP5: Safeguarded land for new Nuclear Power Station 127 Policy EMP6: Underground Storage 128 12 Protecting, Managing and Enhancing the Rural Area 129 Policy RUR1: Development in the Rural Area 133 Policy RUR2: New Dwellings Outside of Development Limits 135 Policy RUR3: Farm Diversification 136 Policy RUR4: Equestrian Development 138 Policy RUR5: Rural Tourism 139 Policy RUR6: Rural Services 140 13 Retail and Commercial Development 141 Policy RC1: Retail and Commercial centre Hierarchy 147 Policy RC2: The Town Centre 151 Policy RC3: Innovation and Skills Quarter 153 Policy RC4: Avenue Road / Raby Road Edge of Town Centre Area 156 Policy RC5: The Brewery and Stranton Edge of Town Centre Area 158 Policy RC6: East of Stranton Edge of Town Centre Area 160 Policy RC7: Lynn Street Edge of Town Centre Area 162 Policy RC8: Mill House Edge of Town Centre Area 163 Policy RC9: Park Road West Edge of Town Centre Area 164 Policy RC10: West Victoria Road Edge of Town Centre Area 166 Policy RC11: York Road South Edge of Town Centre Area 167 Policy RC12: The Marina Retail and Leisure Park 171 Policy RC13: West of Marina Way Retail and Leisure Park 173 Policy RC14: Trincomalee Wharf Retail and Leisure Park 175 Policy RC15: Tees Bay Retail and Leisure Park 178 Policy RC16: The Local Centres 180 Policy RC17: Late Night Uses Area 182 Policy RC18: Hot Food Takeaway Policy 186 Policy RC19: Main Town Centre Uses on Employment Land 189 Policy RC20: Business Uses in the Home 190 Policy RC21: Commercial Uses in Residential Areas 191 14 Leisure & Tourism Development 192 Policy LT1: Leisure and Tourism 196 Policy LT2: Tourism Development in the Marina 198 Policy LT3: Development of Seaton Carew 200 Policy LT4: Tourism Accommodation 202 Policy LT5: Caravan Sites and Touring Caravan Sites 203 Policy LT6: Business Tourism, Events and Conferencing 203 Chapter Section Page 15 Historic Environment 204 Policy HE1: Heritage Assets 208 Policy HE2: Archaeology 209 Policy HE3: Conservation Areas 211 Policy HE4: Listed Buildings and Structures 213 Policy HE5: Locally Listed Buildings and Structures 214 Policy HE6: Historic Shopping Parades 215 Policy HE7: Heritage at Risk 217 16 Natural Environment and Green Networks 218 Policy NE1: Natural Environment 230 Policy NE2: Green Infrastructure 236 Policy NE3: Green Wedges 240 Policy NE4: Ecological Networks 243 Policy NE5: Playing Fields 245 Policy NE6: Protection of Incidental Open Space 246 Policy NE7: Landscaping along main transport corridors 246 LIST OF SUPPORTING INFORMATION No List of Appendices Page 1 Glossary of Terms 248 2 List of Key National Guidance, Plans, Policies and Strategies 266 3 List of Regional Plans, Policies, Guidance and Strategies 268 4 List of Local Plans, Policies, Guidance and Strategies 270 5 List of Evidence Base Documents 271 6 Sites of Nature Conservation Importance 273 7 Regionally Important Geological/Geomorphologic Sites 275 8 Buildings of Special Architectural or Historical Interest 276 9 List of Local Centres in Hartlepool 280 10 Existing and Potential Components of an Ecological Network 281 11a Compatibility of Local Plan allocations with Health & Safety Executive 286 Consultation Zones for Major Hazard Establishments and Major Accident Hazard pipelines 11b Consultation Zones for Major Hazard Installations 292 11c Consultation Zones for Major Accident Hazard Pipelines 293 11d Consultation Zones for Nuclear Power Station 294 No List of Charts Page 1 Hartlepool Local Development Framework 2 2 Key Stages Leading to Adoption of the Local Plan 3 No List of Tables Page 1 Hartlepool Key Facts 11 2 Hartlepool SWOT Analysis 13 3 Local Plan Objectives and Hartlepool Ambition 15 4 Transport Challenges and Ambitions of the Tees Valley 43 5 Key Utilities Issues 55 6 Housing Target Breakdown 78 7 Summary Demonstrating Supply of Deliverable Housing Sites 81 8 Future Housing Supply Over the Next 15 Years 82 9 Housing Stock Mix in the Borough 86 10 Housing Mix Definitions 87 11 Affordable Housing Definitions 105 12 Recommendations from the Employment Land Review 117 13 Retail & Commercial Centre main function, characteristics & unit size 143 14 Retail & Commercial Centre Hierarchy for main town centre uses 146 15 Hierarchy of International, National and Locally Designated Sites 222 16 Example of Ecosystem Services applied to an area of Woodland 225 17 Benefits of High Quality Green Infrastructure Network 233 No List of Graphs Page 1 Delivery Trajectory of Housing Sites over the next 15 years 84 No Diagram Page 1 The South West Extension 90 2 Edge of Town Centre Areas 154 3 Retail and Leisure Parks 170 4 Town Centre sub areas 185 5 Ecological Networks 244 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Government has illustrated the importance of local authorities having an up- to-date Local Plan in place to help guide development. They have stated that local authorities must have “produced” a Local Plan by early 2017 or risk being put into special measures and having a Local Plan produced for the town by the Government. As such the local authority has set out a delivery framework for the Local Plan within the Local Development Scheme which was updated in November 2016 to reflect a slight delay in the production of this Publication Local Plan.